Smart working in the travel agencies and employees’ quality of life

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to understand the impact of smart working on employees’ quality of life. The service-dominant logic indicates that key actors, including employees, are resource integrators. This empirical study contributes to the current knowledge of transformative service by expounding on smart working practices and their relationship with self-efficacy and, ultimately, quality of life of employees. Design/methodology/approach This study contends that smart working enhances employees’ self-efficacy. The current research uses conservation of resources (COR) theory as a basis in hypothesizing that self-efficacy serves as a key resource, which can stimulate workplace creativity, job satisfaction and quality of life. An onsite survey is conducted among employees who have been involved in smart working in the travel agency context. Findings Smart working has a positive effect on self-efficacy, which positively influences workplace creativity, job satisfaction and quality of life. Workplace creativity enhances job satisfaction but does not influence quality of life. Job satisfaction boosts quality of life, which is important to tourism services and their employees amid various crises. Research limitations/implications Consistent with COR theory, the immediate recommendation to managers is to invest in smart working, which can lead to employees’ creativity, job satisfaction and quality of life. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this empirical study is the first to assess the viability of smart working in the travel agency context. Smart working offers positive outcomes, such as convenience for employees to work independently, improving workplace creativity, job satisfaction and quality of life. Travel agencies are mainly categorized as small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In the future, SMEs may also introduce smart working that can eventually become their competitive advantage to retain talented employees.

Servant leadership and tourism businesses’ outcomes: a multiple mediation model

“…According to DeLongchamp (2020), the employee health can potentially improve because of job crafting, as well as views of work-life balance. Also, job crafting aids members in developing prosocial motives and potentially improving their exchange relationships with coworkers (Tims et al, 2013) by allowing them to feel comfortable and energized while working and support smart working which offers positive outcomes, such as convenience for employees to work independently, improving work-life balance, job satisfaction and quality of life (Girish et al, 2022). Hence, we propose:…”

Smart and sustainable hotels: Tourism Agenda 2030 perspective article

“…The smart hotel is also an opportunity to contribute to the achievement of SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth). Besides the effect of online reputation on hotel profitability (Anagnostopoulou et al , 2020), there is a positive impact on the regional economy in the attraction of tourists with high purchase power (León-Gómez et al , 2021), and the possibility to offer high-value jobs, requiring higher technical and managing skills, which lead to talent attraction and retention (Girish et al , 2022) – this is also an indirect contribution to achieve SDG 15 (life on land) by combating desertification. While smart hotels contribute to sustainable tourism, this is in fact a driver of local quality of life by increasing community sustenance (Ramaano, 2022).…”

“…At the same time, the smart hotel gives hoteliers an intelligence environment that enhances higher levels of customization and tourist satisfaction (Buhalis, 2020), as well as operation agility (Buhalis et al , 2022a; Stylos et al , 2021) and competitive advantage (Garcia et al , 2019). In addition, workers get a better workplace, focused on humanization instead of routine operations (Girish et al , 2022).…”

“…Figure 1 explores a triple bet for smart hotels, intertwining digitalization of processes with a better customer relationship through the customization, automation and co-creation that smart technologies allow. While this is a driver for business and customer satisfaction, it is also the “perfect storm” to achieve SDGs (Font et al , 2021), particularly better work conditions, with higher work value, differentiated and humanized, as well as economic growth with tourist and talent attraction (Girish et al , 2022); the smart hotel creates the infrastructure for digital innovation (Erol et al , 2022), permitting better conditions for the concept of tourism for all and contributing to responsible consumption and production with smart devices (Antonova et al , 2021; Loureiro and Nascimento, 2021). Apart from that, there are indirect contributions to other sustainable goals, connected to climate change, smart cities and territorial sustainability (Scott, 2021).…”

Influence of artificial intelligence (AI) perception on career resilience and informal learning

“…Mediating effect of career resilience on the relationship between perception of artificial intelligence and informal learning. Smart working has a positive effect on self-efficacy, which positively influences workplace creativity (Girish et al, 2022). When faced with challenges brought by AI, employees' self-efficacy will prompt them to develop career resilience.…”